Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars is an American teen drama mystery thriller television series that aired for seven seasons, based on Sara Shepard's novel series. Set in the fictional town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, the narrative follows four high school best friends – Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer – whose lives are turned upside down after the disappearance of their clique leader, Alison DiLaurentis. They begin receiving threatening messages from a mysterious anonymous tormentor known as 'A,' who knows all their deepest secrets. The series delves into themes of friendship, secrets, lies, identity, and the constant psychological torment inflicted by 'A,' which evolves in identity throughout the show. The content is generally aimed at a teenage and young adult audience, featuring mature themes, suspense, and mystery elements.
Concerns
LGBTQ & Gender Identity
HighThe series features prominent and recurring LGBTQ+ representation, primarily through the character of Emily Fields, who is openly lesbian. Her storylines involve significant romantic relationships with other female characters, her coming-out journey, and later, forming a family with another female lead, Alison DiLaurentis. This content is central to Emily's character development and a key aspect of the show's later narrative arcs.
Emily Fields engages in long-term romantic relationships with female characters such as Maya St. Germain and Paige McCullers throughout the series. In later seasons, 'A' controversially steals Emily's donor eggs and impregnates Alison DiLaurentis, leading Emily and Alison to raise twin girls together as a couple.
Violence
HighViolence is a pervasive element, central to the show's mystery-thriller genre. Characters are constantly stalked, blackmailed, and physically harmed by 'A' and other antagonists. The series features multiple murders, attempted murders, and scenes of psychological torture and captivity. While not always overtly graphic in the original series, the implications and depictions of harm are frequent and intense.
'A' consistently subjects the main characters to psychological and physical torment, including stalking them and sending threatening messages. The 'Dollhouse' storyline, spanning the Season 5 finale and Season 6 premiere, depicts 'A' kidnapping the Liars and Mona, holding them captive in a life-sized dollhouse where they are forced to 'play' under constant surveillance and manipulation. Characters like Detective Wilden are murdered, and there's a scene where Melissa Hastings and Wilden attempt to push a drugged Aria and a deceased Garrett Reynolds off a moving train.
Romance and Sexual Content
HighThe series extensively features romantic relationships among teenage characters, often with suggestive undertones and implied sexual activity. A significant and controversial plotline involves a teacher-student relationship. While explicit sexual acts are typically implied or cut away, the frequency of passionate kissing, suggestive dialogue, and romantic entanglements is high.
Aria Montgomery has a long-term romantic relationship with her high school English teacher, Ezra Fitz, which begins when Aria is underage. The show depicts numerous scenes of passionate kissing and implied sexual activity between teenage characters, often with cuts or fades to black rather than explicit depiction, such as scenes where characters undress to bras.
Substance Use
HighThe series depicts significant issues of substance use and addiction among its characters. This includes the abuse of prescription drugs and mentions of illicit drug use, as well as underage drinking.
Spencer Hastings develops a storyline involving addiction to ADHD medications like Adderall and Vyvanse, and the use of cocaine. The character Maya St. Germain struggles with substance abuse early in the series, leading to her being sent to a rehabilitation facility.
Scary & Intense Content
HighThe show is inherently suspenseful and contains frequent scary and intense content. This includes constant stalking, jump scares, psychological manipulation, threats to life, and disturbing reveals. The 'A' storyline creates a persistent atmosphere of dread and fear, with characters often in perilous situations.
The primary antagonist, 'A,' relentlessly stalks and torments the girls, appearing unexpectedly and leaving threatening messages, creating a constant sense of fear and paranoia. The 'Dollhouse' episodes feature intense psychological horror, where the Liars are trapped and manipulated by 'A,' forced to reenact scenes and endure severe emotional distress.
Disrespect & Rebellion
HighDisrespect for authority figures and rebellious behavior are central and recurring themes. The protagonists frequently lie to their parents, the police, and other adults to hide secrets and protect themselves, often leading to more complicated situations. This behavior is normalized as a means of survival within their world.
The entire premise of the show revolves around the four friends keeping countless secrets from their parents and authorities, continually lying and engaging in rebellious acts to protect their secrets from 'A'. Aria Montgomery's secret relationship with her teacher, Ezra Fitz, exemplifies significant defiance of societal norms and parental expectations.
Profanity
MediumThe language used by characters, particularly the teenage protagonists, includes moderate to strong profanity. While not consistently extreme, curse words are present in dialogue, especially during stressful or emotional situations, contributing to a mature tone.
Characters use mild to moderate curse words such as 'damn,' 'hell,' and 'crap' throughout the series. While 'f-bombs' are noted to be frequent in the spin-off, the original series, rated TV-14, uses strong language occasionally, reflecting teen dialogue under duress.
Witchcraft & Occult
LowThere is minimal to no explicit depiction of witchcraft or occult practices in the main 'Pretty Little Liars' TV series. While the overarching mystery can be dark and suspenseful, it does not involve supernatural elements or magic rituals as core plot devices.
No specific examples of characters performing magic rituals, summoning spirits, or engaging in explicit occult practices were found within the main series. Mentions of 'witch' or 'magic trick' appear primarily in the context of fan discussions of spin-offs or parodies.
Anti-Christian Themes
LowThere is no explicit or significant anti-Christian messaging or themes identified within the 'Pretty Little Liars' TV series. Religious references are minimal and not portrayed in a mocking or sacrilegious manner.
No specific instances of characters ridiculing Christian beliefs, desecrating religious symbols, or promoting anti-Christian ideologies were found in the main series. While a spin-off 'Pretty Little Liars: Summer School' introduces a church group that might be cult-like, this is not representative of the main series' content regarding Christianity.
Other Notes
Target Demographic
TV-14 (Parents strongly cautioned). This rating is due to pervasive mature themes, including intense violence, strong romantic and sexual content, significant substance abuse storylines, and consistent themes of disrespect and rebellion. While some parents might consider it for mature teens aged 13 or 14, a more appropriate recommendation would be 15+ or 16+ due to the frequency and intensity of the mature content, particularly as the series progresses and in its spin-offs.
Additional Notes
The content intensity generally escalates across the seven seasons of the original series. While the initial seasons establish the mystery and psychological torment, later seasons delve deeper into more mature and disturbing plotlines, including increased violence and complex character struggles with addiction and trauma. Spin-offs, like 'Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin' and 'Summer School,' carry a TV-MA rating due to even more explicit violence, sexual assault discussions, and mature language, indicating a darker and more intense progression of the franchise's themes.
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